We'll Find a Way
by JYu.Lee
Summary: Mac and Stella are working overtime when the lab they are taken hostage by six armed men. What could happen? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**wasup ppl of the world of fanfiction! this is my second csi ny fanfic! im still trying to no the character betta :) hehe well i hopez u guys like this...**

Mac Taylor sat in his office with a heavy frown. He gripped the pen tighter around his fingers and scribbled on the paper in front of him. It was about 12 at night and the lab was empty. Outside was dark and raining cats and dogs. The team had just finished a case concerning a former serial killer who was put away for life. The case had taken nearly a week to solve and everyone was tired. But Mac, being his stubborn self, had insisted on doing paperwork and had stayed in the office until then, still focused on paperwork. But even the head of the crime lab needed a good nights sleep sometime. He rubbed his eyes and tried to pry the sleep away from his eyes. It had been a stressful week at the most, if not frustrating. The whole team had been working 24/7 for the past few days and they were getting some well deserved rest. Mac's hand had starting hurting since an hour ago and now he had the skill of putting his signature on a piece of paper with both his right and left hand.

Dropping his pen on his desk, he leaned back on his chair, closing his eyes. He just wanted to sleep right there. But he knew he couldn't, so he got to thinking. The case, the killer, the victims, the life he had before...Stella. She'd always been there for him. And vice-versa.

The relationship they had was complicated. More complicated than ever. They were friends, yes, even best friends, but they were partners too. That title that they had, held each other back from whatever relationship they might have had. Both were very professional and wouldn't let anything get in between them selves or the work they had. As an important part of the city of New York, both of them kept professional agendas and did everything they could to make the city a bit safer. However, sometimes Mac did wonder what it would be like to go above the line of mere friendship and have something more. Of course after Claire, it wasn't that easy. Peyton had confirmed that. He tried the best he could but every woman he met, he would get reminded of Claire.

For reasons he didn't quite understand, Stella was different. She made him feel...like a human being, like it was worth living. Sometimes, she was the reason why he woke up every day and got into work at 5 in the morning.

He was startled from his thought at the sound of knocking. Opening his eyes, and leaning back forward, he saw Stella standing there, arms crossed and a heavy frown upon her face. He'd thought she went home.

"Mac," she started, "what in the world are you still doing here?"

Mac countered. "I can ask you the same thing."

Stella playfully rolled her eyes and shifted to her other foot. "You should go home. Get some rest."

He smiled warmly at her. "I'm fine. And the chief wants these in by tomorrow," he lied, tapping on the papers spread out in front of him.

Stella sighed. "Mac the chief doesn't care about what happens to the paperwork. He just wants the cases solved. And in order for the cases to be solved, we need the best there is on it. And I _do_ mean you."

Mac looked down. "How long have you been standing there for?" He ignored her comment.

"Long enough to know you need a good night's sleep." She walked over and sat on the chair opposite of Mac's. She put her elbows on her knees and gazed at him.

He mimicked her with a slight grin. "I'm fine, Stel."

Stella shook her head with another sigh. She reached over and grabbed a handful of paper. Mac looked at her with surprise as she brought them to the coffee table across from him and grabbed a pencil. "Fine. When we're finished, your going home and getting some rest."

Mac hid a smirk at her sudden command. "Alright Detective Bonesaera." He flashed her a small smile and went back to work.

A couple minutes later, Mac had finished his pile and look up to see Stella sitting there, writing away. Her side view was perfect, just like her...he shouldn't think like this, no. She was his friend. Just..a friend. However he got up and slumped down next to her. Stella looked over at him with a frown. Mac shrugged and grabbed a few papers from the table.

"Only fare if I help you when you helped me right?"

Stella chuckled. "I guess." She handed him a bit more. When Mac looked at her in question, she answered, "That's for not listening to me."

Laughing, Mac got back to the job at hand. They stayed like that for a while, arms brushing, eyes focused, and hands aching. The only sounds was the rain constantly hitting the window. Suddenly Mac stopped scribbling and his body stilled. Stella noticed almost right away.

"What's wrong?"

Mac put his finger on his lips. Stella instantly became quiet. A small sense of fear was growing inside her. Mac never acted like this without reason. Five seconds past.

"You hear that?" Mac had his stern face on and was listening intently.

Stella focused on hearing anything out of the ordinary. Then she heard it. It was the sound of...a lighter? The elevator singed and she glanced at it. A group of men, all wearing black stepped out. There had to be at least six. All of them were carrying some kind of armed guns. Without warning, Mac grabbed her hand and hurried over behind his desk. He made Stella go under so she was covered by the desk. He then got his piece from his drawer and squatted down next to her.

"You have your gun?"

Stella shook her head. "It's in my office," she whispered. Did this have to happen now? When she was trying to get Mac to go home for some god damn sleep?

Mac bit the bottom of his lip, forming a mental plan. He handed her his phone. "Call Flack. Tell him there might is a hostage situation in the lab."

Stella nodded and reached for the phone. As she took it she felt Mac tense up. His lips were slightly apart and he was slowly beginning to raise his hands.

"Get up," a deep, low voice said behind him.

**Sooooooooooooo how was it? good? bad? should I continue? reviewwww! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**washup ppl! another chappy of theez story :D**

Mac slowly got up. His hands were raised and he glanced at Stella who was staring at him with fright. Her fingers fumbled at the phone. Mac eyes told her to press send and at least let Flack know something was going on. But before she could, the phone was taken from her hands and she was pulled up. Another man grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away from Mac's reach. Mac could feel the cool metal of the gun's barrel resting on his temple. He went still.

"Hey boss!" The man pointing the gun at Mac called out.

"What?" The voice wasn't in the office. But no sooner had the voice been away, had it come in and said, "What's goin' on?" He had a thick New York accent.

"The CSI bosses haven't gone home yet," the man answered with a smirk.

The so-called boss looked at Mac then Stella. His eyes lingered on Stella longer but at Mac's low growl his eyes darted back to him. "Mac Taylor. It's not a real surprise that your still here. It is, after all, only," he glanced down at his watch, "12:30."

Mac glared. The bosses' name was Jimmy Donnings. Mac and the team helped put him away a long time ago for murder. He had a life sentence and now...he was here, in front of Mac, holding his best friend at gun point in his own office.

"What do you want from my lab?" Mac asked, trying not to say 'our' to bring attention to Stella.

"Well...there was some files I needed."

From next to the elevator, Mac saw two men holding two duffel bags. One of them took something out, and attached it next to the panel. Mac knew what it was right away.

"You need C4's to get some files from the cabinet?" Mac asked carefully.

Jimmy shrugged. "I was going to have some fun...but I guess I got a bonus today." He smiled and shivers ran down Mac's spine. He was planning to blow the lab up.

"Your never going to get away with it. You know that."

Jimmy chuckled and walked away from Mac. "Oh but I will. I did before." He walked over to Stella, who was being held firmly, and placed a rough hand on her cheek. Stella yanked her head away and Mac's face grew red. "Oooh," Jimmy cooed. "Feisty.

"Don't touch her," Mac growled from behind him.

Jimmy sighed and turned on his heels so he was facing Mac head on. He curled up his fist and punched Mac in the stomach. Mac was temporarily winded and he gasped as he tried to get oxygen flowing back into his system. Stella bit her tongue trying not to say anything but let out a small whimper. Mac coughed and sighed.

Jimmy smiled and went across to Stella again. Making sure it was when Mac was looking, he put his hands on her face, trailing down her chin. Stella tried to move away but the man behind her, held her tightly. At this, Mac furiously yelled at Jimmy. He was trying to get away from the grip of the captor and help Stella. Somehow, Mac pulled away and was on Jimmy in seconds. However, after one punch, he was pried off again and was slammed, head first into the bookcase. Stella watched in terrifying horror as Jimmy got up, spit on the ground, and angrily walked up to Mac.

"Goodnight, _hero._" With that, he hit Mac over the head with the butt of the gun.

Mac's world went black in a second.

-x-

Stella fought against the bonds that held her and Mac's hand in place. They were in Stella's office, in the middle, sitting on a chair, and handcuffed together. Their back were together so Stella couldn't see Mac or how he was doing. The last time she saw him, she remembered seeing a red mark on his forehead where the blood started seeping through. She tried pinching Mac's fingers, seeing if he woke up but he didn't. It had been at least thirty minutes and she was starting to get worried. This whole thing was a crime scene, or soon will be. Thinking of their team cleaning up Mac's and Stella's burnt bodies made tears come to her eyes. No. They were going to get out of here, _alive_.

She tried once again to wake Mac up. It didn't work.

"Mac," she whispered. The men were all outside the office so no one could hear her. She could see them hurrying about the lab, trying to get the bombs in the right places. Among all of them, she saw Jimmy who was hiding a smile. Hearing a groan, she turned her attention back to her partner. "Mac," she tried again.

"Ste..." he groaned.

Stella was overwhelmed with relief. "Mac!"

"Stel?" His head was throbbing like hell.

She tried to turn and realized in frustration that she couldn't. "Mac," she blinked away the fresh tears of relief, "Mac, talk to me. Are you ok?" She heard him groan and felt a little tug as he leaned forward.

"I'm..fine. What happened?" he asked.

"We're being held hostage in the lab," she huffed.

Mac shook his head and almost instantly regretted it. The pain shot up his head in a millisecond. Breathing out heavily, he asked, "You ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay, Mac." Stella sighed. "We need a way out."

Mac glanced outside the glass wall. "Where's my.." he remembered how the man took his phone from Stella and put it on his desk in his office. They weren't going to get there without getting shot. They need a plan, and fast.

Stella and Mac both knew Stella's gun was on her desk but they couldn't get it while being tied up on the chair. Stella wasn't really sure if she should scream of joy that Mac was ok or growl in frustration that they couldn't get out of this problem. They had taken her phone while tying them up and had smashed Mac's earlier. She could see her phone and gun from where she was, being the one facing her desk, but she couldn't reach it, and it angered her more: the fact that their key of escape was right in front of her and she couldn't get it.

Mac was mentally kicking himself for not being able to protect her. He knew this could be their end but he didn't want to think about that right now. He would find a way out. And when they do get out, he would kill Jimmy Donnings, if he didn't die before. A hundred theories came into his mind but only a few were actually good endings. He pondered in his thoughts and tried to come up with ways to a solution like they had taught in when he was a marine. Then, almost magically, a thought came to mind.

"My cuffs."

Stella sighed. "We're linked together with them."

Mac shook his head furiously as he thought of the one thing that might help them escape. "Not my handcuffs. My shirt cuffs."

Stella's head cleared as he mentioned that. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that earlier! "Can you get them off?"

"Yea." He twisted his hands to get at them and felt around until he felt the metal object. He took it off and moved it around his hand. Then with his other hand, he moved to get the other one but came in contact with Stella's warm hands. He froze. "We'll get out of here." He squeezed her hands. Then, he worked furiously to free them.

Stella's heart instantly warmed at his voice, his touch. She swallowed the lump in her throat that formed and closed her eyes shut. A second later, the weight of the cuffs were off her hands but before she could get up, Mac's hand reached out, grabbed hers and she sat still.

"Be careful. We got one chance on this," Mac reminded her. His voice dropped with concern.

Stella swallowed. "I will. What's the plan."

"Get the phone and gun. Make a call to Flack and put the phone in the drawer but leave it open so he can hear. Maybe he'll suspect somethings wrong."

"What happens if they see us?" Stella asked, knowing a different possibility to there perfect idea. She didn't want to think about that but she knew there was a bigger number of percentage of the men seeing them.

"Then toss me the gun and I'll hold them off as long as I can. You make a run through the back door." He had no hesitation in his voice.

"Mac, I'm not going to let you take th-"

"Stel just listen to me!" Mac interrupted. "Just...go out and get to the morgue. There's a back door there that'll lead us out into the street, okay? I'll catch up with you." The only thing in his head was the thought of getting Stella to safety.

Stella felt like slapping herself. She didn't want Mac to be the one to be taking the other end of the gun but knew he wouldn't listen. She had a different plan. "Fine. But if you don't come in 3 minutes, I'm going back in to find you."

"Stell..."

"No Mac. That's final," Stella said firmly.

Mac sighed. "Fine." He squeezed her hand again. "Please, be careful."

Stella was silent for a second. A part of her wanted to tell him how much he means to her right then, knowing the possible outcomes and the other part yelled at her, saying it was the most stupidest thing to do on earth. "I will," she almost whispered. "You too."

The two waited till three and sprang into action. Almost as soon as Stella reached her desk, a man outside shouted.

"Ay! They got out!"

Mac heard a heavy rope of curses. Stella speed dialed Flack, threw it in her drawer and grabbed for the gun. The sound of glass breaking was filled as the men outside nearly emptied their magazine. Stella threw herself to the ground. Glass walls shattered behind her.

-x-

The phone rang in high volume and pierced through the silent room. Detective Don Flack rolled over the bed with a groan. He cracked open an eye and looked at the clock. 1 AM. Who the hell calls at 1 in the morning on his day off!He reached over and grabbed the phone. 'Stella' flashed on the screen. Did something happen? It was usually him calling one of the CSI's because of a crime scene.

"Hello?" he answered with his still sleepy voice. The sounds of gunshots and glass erupted through the room. Flack jumped in his bed. "Stell?" More shots. "Stella!" The shots stopped and a he heard a voice curse loudly.

Something was wrong.

**soooooooo how was iet! heheh lol sorry if i took a while, im writing too stories so im kinda running through ideas for both of em and their two very different stories :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**sorry bout the lateness. :( i was at a conference and my days were literraly packed. the only time i could write there, was if i crawled into the bed at 12 pm and type under my bed. haha lol...so...sorry...again...my bad...**

"Stella, gun!"

Stella tossed Mac her piece as he ducked behind the wall. She stayed on the floor as she started crawling. The shots were still ringing out and the bullets were embedding them selves into the wall or the glass door in front of her. She heard Mac firing off some shots and cursing. Looking back reluctantly, she saw him taking aim again.

He saw her stopping and his brain was in alarm. "Stel run!"

Biting her lip she crawled over to the back door, felt for the knob and went out. As soon as she was out of her office, she ran in corners to Mac's office. Entering from the back, she made sure no one saw her. As she reached Mac's gun and phone, she could see the men shooting at her office. Stella's feet got painted to the floor as she felt the urge to go out there and help him. Her foot was about the move towards them when Mac's phone vibrated. Picking it up, as to not let them know she was there, she crouched behind the desk.

"Mac!" the person the on the line said.

"Flack?" Stella's stomach filled with hope and relief.

"Stel? Where are you? You in the lab?" Flack asked in a hurry.

Swallowing, Stella said, "Yea. Hurry, we kind of need help," Stella replied in a rush.

"Be right there. I'm two minutes away with back up."

Hanging up, she had a new feeling of hope. They were going to get out, safe. She was about to pocket the phone when she heard running from behind her.

Going on full alert mode once again, she got Mac's piece ready in her hand. When the steps got louder and faster, she sprang up and pointed. A second later, from the other side of the door, Mac passed by, not seeing her, sprinting down the hallway and into the stairs. Even the glimpse of Mac's face flashing by her was enough for her to take in every inch of detail on his body. His forehead was creased with sweat and she could have sworn he had drops of blood on his collar. What frighten her more was the fact that she saw fear in his eyes. Mac Taylor never showed fear in front of people before, never. Not even when he was kidnapped. Waiting a couple of agonizing seconds, the other men took on after him.

Stella made sure there was no one behind the group of men who were in chasing. She pushed past the door and sprinted up the stairs, to the sound of gunshots, again. The morgue was the other way so Stella had a pretty good idea of what Mac had thought of. He was going to lead the men far from her as she went out of danger. She would have felt incredibly happy that he cared for her if it wasn't for their current situation. She flew up the last few steps of the stairs and ran the corner. She could hear gunshots from the far side of the building and ran towards it. Stella skidded to a stop when from behind the corner, a gunshot went through the wall right above Stella's head. She crouched down in a hurry. She was pretty sure they couldn't see her. So she waited exactly three minutes and came up from her hiding, gun aimed straight out. The sight made her heart skip a beat.

Mac stood there, gun trained at one guy but the guy didn't have any weapons except his fist. But on the floor, lay four other men, who appeared to be dead. Mac's back was turned towards her and she could tell the man noticed her.

Stella, without thinking, at all, yelled, "Mac!"

Hearing her voice right behind him, he turned into a deeper mode of panic. Why was she here! He thought he was daydreaming but turned. Stella stood there with his gun in her hand. Then, out of no where, a man appeared behind her and was raising the gun to her. Mac's eyes got wide and he changed the directionality of his aim and pulled the trigger.

Stella ducked. But the bullet, of course didn't hit her. She turned around in a haste and saw a man falling behind her, blood starting to seep through his clothes.

Mac breathed out in relief, but that didn't last long. His breath was knocked out of him as the man he totally forgot about, tackled him from the back. The gun flew out of his hand and he heard the_ clunk_ as it hit the wall and floor. They both hit the floor, Mac on the bottom, and instantly started wrestling for the top. The guy punched and kicked but that didn't really help. As an ex-marine, Mac gave the guy one good punch to the jaw and his head snapped back with a crack. Pushing him off himself, Mac almost threw the guy to the floor and kneed him in the stomach. The guy doubled over in pain. Mac didn't care to finish him off, instead he cuffed him. He stood up and turned around to see Stella speed walking towards him. Before he knew it, she was hugging him until he couldn't find his breath.

"S-Stel..." he croaked.

She let go but still held him at arms length.

Mac took a deep breath and smiled. "Well...how you doin'?"

Stella's jaw nearly hit the floor. Really? "Well let's see. I stay in the Lab for a couple extra hours and we're being shot at by a couple of psychopaths who is here to get some 'files'. My best friend was just running around, by himself, which four other people, whose armed, mind you, and lied to me about meeting at the morgue and is constantly playing hero and putting himself out in danger like a brick wall. So I'm fine. I'm just perfect," she said. Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Mac's smile disappeared and turned into a frown. He dropped his eyes to the floor. "Sorry," he nearly whispered.

Stella sighed. "It's ok, Mac. I would've done the same."

Mac gave a small grin and put his arms out to hug her, when he saw Jimmy standing a couple yards away behind Stella.

"Goodnight Detectives." Jimmy smiled. He took his hand out from his back. In his hand was the detonator and attached to the wall next to him, was a bomb.

Before Stella could turn to see what was going on, Mac pulled her far away from the voice and swung her to the floor.

_Boom_.

-x-

Flack was in his car, about a minute away from the Lab. He'd called Stella and tried Mac a few times. After a while, Stel answered and he had to hope she and Mac were alright. Flack had called the chief and back up and almost every single man still on duty. He flung the car over a red light and turned and came in view of the NYC Lab. Police cars were already scattered across the front. He had a pretty good idea they were in the back also. He hopped out of the car without even thinking of locking it and hurried over to where a couple of officers were discussing something. But just as he reached them, the Lab above them blew up with a boom.

There were screams and yells. Everyone ducked to be shielded from the debris. Flack looked up at the burning top of the Lab. Only one word escaped from his mouth,

"NO!"

**one chapter to go! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**worst thing tht ever happened to me, my comp crashed rite wen i finishhd the chapter -_- AND I DIDNT SAVE IT! so i tried to write the whol longest chapter ive ever done...but i kinda kept on forgetting it...D: ...so...haha heres the next short chapter...and this ISNT THE END so dont...freak out...hehe :)**

Stella opened her eyes. And instantly closed them again. The air was dusty and dirty. As she sucked in a breath, she could tell the air was sour. She coughed and cleared her head. Her right arm was in panic mode ad was throbbing. Other than that, everything was okay. The rest of her body seemed to be functioning right. Stella tried to pull herself up with her right arm. Debris seemed to be littered onto the floor she was lying on. She pulled a random piece of tile off her leg and rubbed her eyes. They were moist from blinking away the dirt. The large space was dark but closed and something creaked. Her guess, a piece of building that was still unattached. What happened? Then it clicked.

Mac! The bomb!

Forgetting about anything else, Stella scrambled to her knees. Nursing her left arm, she managed to blink away any debris flying about and focus. Focus on finding Mac. He could be hurt! Or worse... Stella got up with wobbly knees. At least they didn't give out beneath her. She took one step forward. Then another. "Mac!" she yelled. Her voice was a bit foggy to her mind. She didn't walk far. They were closely together when the bomb went off.

'Please let Mac be okay', she prayed. Stella didn't normally pray, she went to church on and off but right now, she meant it with her heart.

"Mac!" She yelled again. She circled the area she was in but found no traces of him. Search and rescue must be here...It was a big blast. Maybe they found Mac and got him out? No...that would have meant that Mac was far away from her when the blast happened. Maybe the rescue team was coming in to look for her next?

Thoughts ran through her mind but not one seemed to stick. Stella turned around nad was going to take a step when something out of the corner caught her eyes. An arm? Stella's eyes lifted with saucers when she saw the watch on the wrist. Mac! She almost fell as she scrambled to reach him. When she did, she fell on her knees and pulled fallen pieces of wood and glass off him. When the last of wood was lifted off him, she saw his face. Mac's face was pale, really pale. Half his face was red with stained blood. Stella couldn't tell whether it was his or not since there were no cut scars on his face. His eyes were shut and for a horrifying second, Stella thought he wasn't breathing. But when she felt a pulse at the base of his neck, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Her panic was returned to high, however, when she saw his leg. His right leg was bleeding, badly. Stella ripped her jacket and rapped it around his leg, trying to stop or even reduce the bleeding. By the looks of it, he already lost a lot of blood.

After making sure the jacket was firmly on, she moved back up. "Mac," she said, tapping his face. Worry etched her face. "Mac," Stella tried again. She moved her ear to his chest, it was beating. Beating in a faint beat, but it was there. "Mac. Mac if you can hear me, please wake up." She sucked in her overcoming tears which were threatening to fall. Mac was always the strong one. The one she always leaned on. Now he was...he was lying there. "Mac," she whispered. This time, a tear dropped and fell down his face. She couldn't live if Mac didn't get help in time.

He groaned.

Stella's eyes snapped back up to where Mac laid. She held her breath as she hoped. A second later, Mac's face scrunched up and he groaned again. Stella sniffed and crawled closer, her eyes trained on his face. "Mac?" she said, her voice sounding insecure.

He breathed out. First thing he did was breathe, and remembering to breathe. He opened his eyes, everything was a bit blurry. He shut his eyes in a fury as a new shock of pain shot up his leg. He let out a low groan, followed by a hitched breath and his hand reached out for his leg. However, before the hand could find way to the leg, something grabbed it. Something soft. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes again. He searched around for a while until his eyes fell on another pair, a kind, gentle looking pair. But, he didn't know who it was.

Stella was about to leep in joy. Mac was ok, he was alright. "Mac," she nearly yelled with a smile on her face. However, her joy didn't last long. The next thing Mac said, scared her.

"W-who?"

-x-

The sirens buzzed near Flack as he shouted into his radio. He was becoming more impatient by the minute and when the firefighters said it was too dangerous to get in there, it wasn't helping.

"Well figure out a damn way!" he yelled at the chief firefighter.

"I'm sorry but the because of the building being so unstable, it's not safe for anyone to go in!" he yelled back.

"I don't care! There are at least 2 people trapped under that rubble and if we don't get to them in time, they could die!"

The firefighter took a huge breath. "Sir, right now, we need to be patient and figure out a plan to get in there without hurting anyone else." With that, he walked away, Flack glaring a hole into his back.

Just then, a van pulled up, and Danny, Lindsay, Hawkes, Adam, and Sid got out. Flack didn't have time to even breathe before they were all around him. "What happened?" Danny said. His eyes were filled with horror and confusion.

Hawkes and identical to Danny's and Lindsay looked like she's been crying. Sid was trying to stay calm but found it hard to. Adam was...Adam was basically the definition of frantic.

"Calm down guys," Flack told the group, wondering why they were all together in the first place.

"Calm down?" Danny shouted in his face. "How the hell would we calm down!"

"Danny," Lindsay said, pulling him from Flack's reach.

Flack's hands curled up at his side and he forced himself to look down. He didn't want to hit Danny.

From the corner, Sid said, "What happened?"

Flack sighed before replying. "Mac and Stell were caught in the bomb blast."

Sid's eyes widened as the rest of the group took in the sudden information. "Are they..."

"We don't know. They're probably in there. But these idiots won't let us search for them until they know the building is okay to go into."

Danny cursed and Lindsay let out a gasp. "Have you tried calling them?" Hawkes asked.

Flack nodded. "Both of there phone are dead."

Adam swallowed his worry and he asked, "S-so what do w-we do?"

Another sigh followed through Flack's lips. "Well we sure aren't going to just wait."

-x-

"Wh...Mac." Stella didn't know what to think. This was a joke...right?"

"Who?"

Stella shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe it was her dizziness that was making her think this way. But when she opened them again, Mac was staring back at her with eyes filled with pain and confusion. "Mac, it's me, Stella."

Mac furrowed his brows and tried to figure out who in the world 'Stella' was. It sounded familiar, punched something on the back of his mind. He knew this person, but he had no idea who she was. She didn't look like she'd hurt him. But then, another question formed in his mind, one that scared him. "Who am I?"

Stella's jaw nearly dropped. This couldn't be happening. Not now. "Mac, Mac Taylor." Stella gulped. When Mac's expression was still confused, she said, "Your...your the boss of the New York City Crime Lab, um...ex-marine."

Mac was still confused.

Running her hand over her face, she said, "Mac, you can't do this to me. Please, I need you." Mac's memory lost was a completely different story than just a bomb going off in the lab.

He just blinked and looked at the stranger.

Without warning, Stella nearly burst into tears. He had to remember, he had to. All the years as partners, he couldn't lose that,_ they_ couldn't lose that. To Stella, being best friends with Mac Taylor meant everything to her. She covered her face with both her hands as she wept.

Mac's expression had gone from confusion to worry to clueless. Whatever he did, it had upset this person. He groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position with his elbows. Mac firmly planted his hands on the floor and took a second to adjust to the position. The next thing he did, surprised himself. He reached forward and brought the stranger closer, giving her a hug.

Stella was surprised by his sudden gesture. She was sure that if Mac lost his memory, he would not hug a complete stranger. But she got lost from her thoughts as she felt Mac's arms secure around her and keep her close. As she breathed in, she could still smell the distant scent of his cologne. It brought tears to her eyes once again.

"I...it's ok..." Mac muttered. He, having no idea as to know who he was, hugged her without saying anything else.

When Stella calmed down some what, she pulled away from Mac, wiping her face. "I'm sorry."

Quiet sang through the broken building. Mac sat there, staring off into the rubble as Stella stared down. "Where are we?" Mac asked.

To Stella, it didn't sound like Mac. The Mac she knew was always...sure of himself. This Mac seemed lost. "We got caught in a bomb. Jjimmy Donnings, you remember him?" she asked, remembering the name herself. Mac bit the bottom of his lip and shook his head. Stella furrowed her brows. "I...I know I'm asking for too much but what's the last thing you remember, Mac?"

Mac sat there, staring at his legs for some time, gathering his thought. He remembered a lot of things but known of it had to do with New York or the crime lab. "I...I remember gunshots, bombs, shouting, crawling, bleeding"

'He remembers the time in the Marines...' Stella thought with a frown.

"...Claire." Stella's eyes widened and a small smile formed on her lips. At least he remembered something. "I remember asking her to marry me...and I don't remember anything after that."

Stella frowned. If Mac didn't know about 9/11, then things were going to be hard. She didn't think Mac could go through the death of his wife two times.

"Wheres...where are we?" Mac asked again. Pictures of him a Claire ran through his mind.

Stella opened her mouth to answer but a noise was heard from behind. Thinking help was here, she turned around...to stare down the barrel of a gun.

**IT IS NOT THE END~! PPPL! XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**SO SORRY BOUT NOT UPDATING FASTER! one of the computer in our house completely broke...so we had to get a new one and tht took like two weeks to get here and the other computer...well it's in my brothers room and never lets me on it...but the computers here now and its frkn AWSOME! . hehe/...**

"Well?"

Danny was following the fire chief on his heels, asking question about when they could go in, annoying the living shit out of him. The chief sighed and turned around, trying very hard not to punch the younger man. Never in his whole life had he seen such a stubborn group of team. "In a few minutes. You know we need to be careful on every move we take!"

"In a few minutes they could be in serious trouble! Or worse!" Danny shouted, hands raised.

The chief sighed and ran a tired hand through his balding head. He checked his watch. 2 AM. The sun hadn't even peeked out yet. He bit the bottom of his lip as every possibility ran through his mind. "Fine," he said with a sigh. He saw the young man's eyes light up in happiness. The cheif explained the main protocols and no sooner was he done to talking to Danny, Danny thanked him in a hurry and ran off. The chief chuckled and shook his head. He was breaking a lot of rules, he knew. But that look on each of the groups faces meant something. He just hoped that whoever this person or people that they were going after was important.

"They'll go in!" Danny shouted out in glee to the group waiting by the cruiser.

"Really?" Hawkes exclaimed in an equally happy gesture.

Danny nodded and the smile wasn't forgotten on his face.

-x-

Her eyes went wide as they traveled up and saw into the eyes of Jimmy Donnings. Half his face was nearly burnt off. Stella could tell he was breathing hard by the way he stood and gripped the gun.

"I have two more bullets in the magazine," Jimmy cocked the gun to the side. "Now I could kill you...but," he moved the gun towards where Mac sat, "he's the one I want."

Mac was confused more than scared. He's stared down the barrel of a gun many times and knew how to deal with them, but currently, he was injured.

Before he could even get near to pulling the trigger, Stella jumped and tackled him to the ground. The gun was still in Jimmy's hand. Stella and Jimmy rolled on the uneven floor, trying to get the upper hand. Stella had more of an advantage since she wasn't as injured as him but Jimmy wasn't backing down. As soon as the two hit an ending wall, he kneed Stella in the stomach, her grip loosening on him. Jimmy elbowed Stella in the head and got up to his feet. While his gun was still trained on Stella, who was trying to get up but finding it hard, he backed his way back to Mac. As soon as he was close, he reached down, grabbed Mac by the arm and pulled him up, ignoring the groan of pain that followed by the bleeding man. Jimmy put the gun right next to Mac's temple as Stella finally managed to get up.

Out of breath once again, Jimmy said, "Stay right there, Boneseara. One move and I blow his head off."

Losing the last couple years didn't make Mac forget all the things he'd learn from the Marines, or the previous life. It was kind of obvious that this guy wanted him and the person, 'Stella' killed. He didn't know why but when he mentioned Claire to her, she seemed to know what he was talking about so he followed his gut. Mac swung his arm around and hit the guy over the head as hard as he could. He twirled around and, while Jimmy was shaking his head in a daze, Mac brought his fist up again and punched him as hard as he could right in the back. Jimmy fell face first on the debris filled floor, gun in hand, not moving.

Stella's feet were nearly planted on the floor. She watched as Mac breathed in heavily and fists in tight balls. She hesitated to take a step towards him because she didn't exactly know what was going to happen, and that thought almost killed her. Having to think before acting in front of her partner and best friend wasn't exactly paradise. Maybe Mac remembered. Maybe he remember the death of his wife and he acted on rage? Then it definitely wasn't a good idea to take a step towards him right now, considering that he still remembered his time in the Marines. But before she could even say something, Mac said,

"I don't know who you are, but if you know Claire I think I deserve an answer."

Stella's heart broke into pieces. She didn't know what she was going to say or how she was going to say it but she knew she eventually had too. But before she could open her mouth to reply, a familiar voice and a clanking sound distracted her.

"Mac! Stel! You in there?"

Stella swung around and her stomach filled with glee at the familiar voice. "Danny!"

A light found it's way to her and she swung her hand over her head. "I see you! Is Mac in there too?"

Stella looked back. She saw Mac's face hadn't changed and the only thing she said was, "Their our friends. Their here to help us." She reached out a hand. Mac was hesitant at first but he reached out and grabbed it. Stella smiled warmly at the familiar feeling of his skin on hers. Turning back she yelled out, "Mac's here!" Then to herself, "Mac's here..." The only thing on her mind right at that moment was getting Mac to safety.

-x-

They got out safe. Not exactly uninjured but they got out safe. Mac was taken to the hospital as soon as they got out with a promise from Stella that she would go right away. Flack had a paramedic look at Stella's arm but she insisted she was fine. The young trainee gave her a sling and walked away. Flack put the sling firmly on her and sat down next to her.

"So what happened?" Flack asked in a small voice.

Stella sighed as the night's events all went by her. She started from the beginning. "We were working overtime in the lab when a group of men came in and was planting bombs. The guy, Jimmy Donnings had a grudge against Mac and the team. Do you remember him? They found me and Mac and tied us together. Mac got us free with the cuff links in his shirt and when they weren't looking we ran for it. I was first and I got to Mac's office and called you and...and then the bomb went off and Mac pushed me as far away possible and he lost his memory. Oh god Don, he lost his memory!"She was near to tears. She buried her head on the crook of Don's neck and wept. "It's my fault Mac. If he hadn't taken the time to push me out of the way, he would have been okay!"

Don put his arms around her and held her like that until she calmed down. It broke his heart to see his best friends like this. "It's not you fault Stel."

Just then Hawkes ran over to them. "Hey, I just got a call from the hospital. Mac just got out of surgery and he's moving into a room right now from the ICU."

**soo...next chappy, Mac in the hospital o.O wierd huh...haha**


	6. Chapter 6

**...i reaaaaalllyyyy have to apoligize. i typed this up and i thought i published it, A MONTH AGO. but ... i guess the computer turned off as i was uploading this last chapter cause wen i checkd today, it wasn't there. and i made sure tht i will be able to uplaod this last chapter before the computer went back (we had to send the new computer back :3 some wierd prob) and i thought i did but...i guess it didn't haha. the new new computer came and i checkd my fanfiction today for the first time in many many days and ... it wasn't uplaoded so...IM REALLY SORRY :(**

The whole entire team rushed to the hospital. The group ran over to the nurse behind the front desk.

"Is Mac Taylor here?" Danny asked in a hurry.

Before the nurse opened her mouth, a young doctor came in from the other side. "Are you here for Detective Taylor?" They all nodded. "Is there a Stella Bonesera?"

Stella stepped forward unsteadily. "That's me."

The doctor pursed his lips. "May I talk to you in private please?"

Stella glanced around at the team, who all nodded their heads in return. "Go ahead, Stell." Flack said. "Bring us some good news about Mac, ya?"

Stella gave a small smile and followed the doctor through the door to another hallway. They sat down on the chairs lined up by the wall. The doctor sighed. "I'm Dr. Lane, Detective Taylor's surgeon. Detective Taylor has you as one of his emergency contact numbers. You're his partner am I correct?"

She nodded. "Is he...is he going to be okay?" Stella was afraid to hear the truth, knowing he didn't know who he was himself.

Dr. Lane sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair. "Well a piece of glass pierced through his right leg and thank god it missed a major artery or he would have been in serious trouble. The surgery went well, we patched him back up. Now, his memory," he bit his bottom lip, "his memory at first was a couple years delayed. He told me he remembered things from when he was a Marine." Dr. Lane looked up and met Stella in the eye. "But it came back. He knows he's the boss of the crime lab."

Stella nearly bursted in joy. Right after the doctor said that, she jumped up and gave him one of the biggest hugs on Earth. "Thank you! Thank you sooo much!"

Smiling, the doctor said, "Now mind you, he needs time off the field. No shooting, running, even walking. That leg doesn't need anymore damage."

All this time, Stella was nodding. "I'll chain him to a chair if I have to, thank you so much!"

Dr. Lane grinned and Stella started running to the door but stopped when he shouted, "You can see him in his room! Just ask the nurse!"

Turning around, Stella replied, "Thanks! Will do!" Then she ran out the door.

The team was still pacing. As the door opened again, Danny and Flack rushed over to her. "Is he okay?"

Stella nodded. "Yea, he's alright. And we can see him."

Getting the number from the nurse, they all got into the elevator. A minute later, they were standing outside the door to Mac's room. Through the window, Stella could see him. He had an IV attached to his wrist and he seemed to be sleeping. The fact that he was all right, that his memory wasn't gone, made Stella nearly jump in joy.

"Stell, you should go in," Lindsay said quietly.

Stella gulped. She didn't want to interrupt his peacefulness. She didn't even know how to began, after all the things that happened that evening. Drawing a large take of breath, she opened the door and stepped inside. The others waited outside, letting them talk on their own. Stella took another step forward to Mac's bed. She could see him more clearly now. Without all the dirt on his face, she could see the bruises and small cuts that the bomb had made. Dragging herself a chair, she sat down next to him. Reaching forward she grabbed his hand and caressed it.

"Stell?"

Stella's eyes shot up to the voice. Mac cracked open one eye and when he saw her, he smiled. "Hey," she said, tears forming on her eyes once again. "How you doing?"

"Been better." Mac coughed. Stella smoothed his hair and glanced into his eye's in concern. "You okay?"

Giving up a small smile, Stella replied with a nod. "Yea." She wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Ya, I'm fine."

Mac gripped her hands. His eyes changed mood, from relieved to guilty. A frown lit on his handsome face and he coughed again. "Listen, Stella, I...what happened back in the building...I'm sorry."

Stella didn't need to think to understand what he was talking about. "It's okay, Mac. You have nothing to be apologizing for." It was true. It wasn't his fault that he was looking for Claire, 10 years after she had gone to Heaven.

Mac looked down, ashamed. "I put you in a tough stop."

Stella gave up a warming laugh. "Mac, it's okay."

Their eyes met and the surroundings disappeared. The only object in their eyes were them. The beeping of the machines vanished and the roaring from the sirens of the ambulances outside subsided. Mac and Stella simply stared into each others eyes, lost by their gaze. But the moment was short lived when the door burst open behind them.

Stella gasped and turned around in a second, her hand going to her gun at her side. However, when a very clumsy Danny stumbled in, she relaxed some. Danny was a different story. He landed on his hands and knees with a thump. Looking up with nervous eyes, he smiled small and shrugged in apology. Stella then saw that behind Danny, the team was grouped around the door, all leaning in, caught expressions plastered on their faces. It then accord to her that the team had been eavesdropping on them. Oh great.

Putting her hands on her hips in mock attempt, she straightened up and faced them. Clearing her throat, she said, "What exactly are you doing?" For a while no one spoke. Then, soft laughter filled the room. Startled, Stella turned around to see Mac smiling and trying to hold in a laugh. Flack joined him in a heap. Next thing she knew, the room was filling with laughter and chuckles. Stella stood back with a smile on her face as the group crowded around Mac, who was grinning.

They were going to be just fine.

**like it? hate it? maybe u could suggest something for an alternate ending haha and ill try to type it up in the ending. lol :)**


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